Thursday, March 18, 2010

Happy Dance!

I just finished typing the last chapter of the Steampunk novel I've been working on! Big time happy dance! I'd started the last 3 or 4 chapters 4 or 5 different times, but nothing felt right. I kept saving the files, then deleting everything I'd added and trying again. And again.

Finally had a bit of a light-bulb moment and realized I needed to delete one more chapter. It's where things had gone from exciting to bleh. And nobody wants bleh, especially at the end of their novel.

Once I deleted it and started from there, it more or less flew out of my fingers.

One of the sub-plots tied itself up in a nice pretty bow for me. And even though it's not a bright, shining, happy-ever-after ending, I like it.

I think the impetus for the ending came from knowing I had a whole hour to write this afternoon. In a row!! You have no idea how rare that is. It's actually been almost an hour and a half now. This never happens. Ever!

I know there's still tons of work to do - lots of revising/editing to come, but I'm still happy dancing. This is a much stronger first draft than my last one. I don't have nearly as many useless words. The pace is better. So, I'm feeling good about diving back in to do some polishing.

Do you ever have troubles with your endings? How have you resolved them? Did you plow on through or go back and delete?

84 comments:

Congrats! That's such a great feeling isn't it? I haven't had too much problems writing the endings, mostly though because I'm a planner and I typically know exactly how I want it to end before I've even begun. I usually change a lot of the in-between stuff, but the ending stays the same. Wahoo on finishing though! I'm doing a happy dance for you!

After writing and editing my original ending of current WiP, I deleted the entire thing and rewrote it. It was just so flat. I'd lost some of my characters voice, as well. Almost nothing from the original stayed and I'm much happier with it.

Congratulations!! Finishing a first draft is the best feeling. You know you've done well when subplots tie themselves up like that.

I always think up my ending first. I change the story as I go along, but I mentally shift the ending a bit to compensate if needed, so when it's time to write it, it just comes down to choosing the right words. Problem with my current wip is I have two endings in mind, and I'm not sure which I like more.

On my first draft (which I blindly thought was IT) I wrote out this sentence and knew that was it...I was done. I could not write another word that statement ended it all! I loved it! So hopefully it sticks through this third rewrite! It had that finality that can also move you on to a next book in the series (my evil plan)

Since I'm not a 'happily ever after' person, endings are always tough. It's a matter of resolving the major conflicts, giving enough of an ending to satisfy the reader but still keep them wondering about the characters. Not easy.

Abba, dabba, doo-- You're the dancing queen!Now keep up the energy and waltz right through the next steps of the process.I do pretty well with beginnings and endings, I just stumble sometimes between the two points.Lee

Michelle - thanks! balance is such a hard thing at times. I really struggled with this one. It was just draaaaaaging out - and driving me batty. I think this one works well. But I'm not re-reading it tonight in case I'm wrong :)

Congrats Jemi!! I'm doing a happy dance for you. Don't you love the feeling of finally writing that last sentence? :) Or even just "The End." I usually don't have trouble with my endings or my beginnings - it's the saggy middles that give me the most problems!

Endings tend to come to me first, then I build backward. (I realize now that sounds like I'm building a house under a hovering roof.) I used to get rid of everything I didn't like as soon as I wrote it. I stopped doing that when I went on a rampage through my room looking for a sheet of paper containing a beautiful line that I could not remember upon second attempt... and realizing I'd tossed it into the fire (literally) a week before.

Let this be a lesson that stupid decisions will come back to bite you in the butt.